Election Results/ Thought Regarding Education

Update: State Superintendent candidate Chris Reykdal has very slightly widened his lead from 51% to 51.11% over Erin Jones who had 49% and now has 48.89%

End of update

Well, that was unpleasant.

Good article from the NY Times:

“Tonight data died,’’ he added.

In their view the government was broken, the economic system was broken, and, we heard so often, the news media was broken, too. Well, something surely is broken. It can be fixed, but let’s get to it once and for all.

What will Trump do for education?  Here's a comment from a reader, Sad News:
My guess is that with Trump's business background, we will see an increase in corporate interests in public education. More dismantling of our public education system which is the foundation of our democracy. Dismantling what the founders of the US public education system accomplished. Learning from history and looking around the world, we anticipate in the education world that this would lead to even more gross inequality between elites and the masses. I have a graduate degree in education. My college of education professor's worst nightmare.
I agree.  It will lean towards charters and vouchers and "personalized learning."  It may even get more test-based to prove competency.  Given that Trump is likely to put Christie, Guiliani and Gingrich in his cabinet, I shudder to think who will be Secretary of Education (if he even leaves it as a department.)

One interesting thing is that there is surely a divide among Republicans.  They certainly don't all agree with what he says he wants to do and you have to wonder if they will check him at times or just go along?  It would be amusing to see an issue that the majority of the House and Senate are united on override a Trump veto.

Via Diane Ravitch:
He pledged to take $20 billion from existing federal programs, probably Title I, and give it to the states to be used for charters and vouchers. It will be up to the states to protect what they can of public education. 
But just as Trump got elected, two key public education issues got decided last night.  The state of Massachusetts voted an absolute NO to lifting the cap on the number of charter schools in their state. This despite millions of dollars poured in from outside the state to the Yes campaign.

Other news via Diane Ravitch:
Voters in Georgia rejected Amendment 1, which would have allowed the Governor to take over low-scoring schools and put them in an “Opportunity School District,” a district of charter schools, whether for-profit or non-profit. Georgians apparently didn’t like the idea of abolishing local control of their schools. The vote was similar to Massachusetts, 60-40%. Voters were not fooled by the deceptive language.

Voters in Washington State re-elected the Supreme Court judges who declared that charter schools are not public schools, rejecting the judges supported by Bill Gates.
What I see from these election results is that people do like local control of public education.  How that plays out against what changes happen from federal point of view remain to be seen.

Lastly, the first vote drop shows a close race for state superintendent of public instruction with Chris Reykdal leading Erin Jones,  51%-49%.  I believe the next count will come at about 4:30 pm today.

Comments

Anonymous said…
WSHS students have walked out of class and are marching to the Junction.

WS Dad
Anonymous said…
Whatever, I welcome the voucher system and charter schools.

Today the progressive brain washing ends!


Eat it!
Anonymous said…
My kids in hcc have a lot of first and second generation immigrant friends, kids who don't get "counted" as minority enough when we talk about advanced learning, but who feel very, very nonwhite today. It is a scary day for many of us. My kids were asking first thing what to say to those kids, who had sent fearful texts overnight, and I don't know. I'm just sorry.

The principal of JAMS sent this out:


Dear Families,
I realize that last night's election is on many middle school student's minds. This morning, we met as a staff, and felt that it was important that we recognize the impact on middle school minds and take a few moments to remind students of our core values today. During first period, I addressed the students with the following:
Many of you stayed up late last night in order to learn about the results of the presidential election. And, I want to recognize that many of you are feeling the impact of those results. During this election season many of you have heard or seen many hurtful and hateful things in the news.
I want each and every one of you to know that here at Jane Addams we are more committed than ever to maintaining a positive school community that will allow you to learn as much as possible in order to achieve your goals in a safe, democratic environment.
At Jane Addams we work daily towards a school where students are safe, prepared, respectful and, perhaps most importantly, inclusive. We will support and stand by each of you. To paraphrase an article that I read this morning, the adults here at Jane Addams are here to support our students of every religion, of every political belief, of every gender, of every ethnicity, of every disability, of every background. You all matter to us and we will support you.
We do not tolerate bullying, intimidation or any other actions that perpetuate bigotry, stereotypes or racism. We are here to help you learn how to have productive conversations about world -wide events and to gain the skills necessary for you to become an active contributor to a positive community, be it here at school, in the city of Seattle or elsewhere in the country.
Moving forward I want you all to think about what you might be able to do on a daily basis in our community to show that you value a world of safety, respect for differences and inclusiveness for all. Even small acts can have a meaningful impact. We have many adults here at school who are willing to help you on your path.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are fortunate to have an incredible community, and here at school, we are honored to help your young people navigate what may be the first presidential election that they are old enough to discuss, ask questions and form their own opinions.

-sleeper
Anonymous said…
Perspective on the Now What? for education:

https://edexcellence.net/articles/now-what

"It would not have taken much for us to be clear when calling on policymakers to close achievement gaps that we were talking about both class and race, about rural as well as urban...As the election recedes from view, let us not fall back into our bad habits, and forget the rural and small town kids who need our help, too."

-humbled voter
Outsider said…
It's worth noting the differences in "danger" faced by different categories of students. Probably SPS has a few hundred students who are in the country illegally via visa overstay or some other circumstance, and those might fear being deported by Trump. Also Muslim students with F or H visas or even green cards might worry that Trump would somehow expel them. Those fears would be more urgent than general anxiety that the country might not be heading in the direction their teachers had been promising.

As a big step-back, I would recommend reading this article:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/14/venezuela-a-failing-state
Not that there is any simple relevance to the US situation. Just that a lot of people need a big step-back. The article on Venezuela might reset your meter on what it means to be unsafe, and underscore how feeble are the anodyne assurances of a school principal when a country really starts breaking up. In the long term, service to kids is not a matter of anodyne assurances, but the courage to admit things aren't quite how you thought, and to grapple with reality.
Anonymous said…

This came from the superintendent of the high school I attended in Evanston, Illinois, just outside Chicago. I wish Dr. Nyland would follow the example. This is called being a leader:


This is Dr. Witherspoon.

Once in a while it’s important that we pause and reflect on who we are and reaffirm our appreciation for one another.

This morning I want to remind all of you that ETHS is a safe and welcoming place for you. You attend a school where we not only respect differences, we embrace our diversity.

We embrace one another’s race and ethnicity. We embrace one another’s family background, heritage, language and culture.

We embrace one another’s religion and your right to your own personal customs and beliefs.

We embrace your sexual orientation and your gender identity.

We embrace your special needs.

We embrace you and value you as individual human beings.

Never forget: you belong here at ETHS—each and every one of you.

Today, I urge you to be kind and caring to one another. Redouble your support for one another. And even though we cannot always control what is going on in the larger world around us, we can define our own school, our own community.

Let’s make this school year a year of strengthening our sense of community here at ETHS, and let’s reaffirm a community legacy for all the students today and for those who will follow you at ETHS.

The sun is shining today. Your school is a nurturing place for you to learn and grow. Your futures are bright.

Let’s protect and take care of each other. Everything is going to be okay.
I love all of you. Fill your hearts with love for each other. And no matter what, remember, even today, that it is a great day to be a Wildkit.

---
Concerned Hamilton and Cascadia parent

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